Badshah, Jaipur zoo's oldest lion dies.

TNN | Apr 30, 2014, 01.55 AM ISTJAIPUR: The twenty-three-year-old lion of Jaipur Zoo popularly known as 'Badshah' was given a tearful adieu on Tuesday. He died from multiple organ failure due to cancer at 9.30am. He had reached the highest life expectancy for Asiatic lions and his death has shook the zoo caretakers and animal lovers who will miss his roar. Badshah's last movement was spotted last night when he changed his place near a cooler in his cage. He blinked his eyes last at 9am, said the guards who were monitoring him round-the-clock. After that he never woke up. The zoo's oldest occupant's last day was attended by the entire staff. His body was garlanded by roses and cremated.

The cancer was diagnosed last week after he didn't touch the beef given to him in his cage. His blood test sent to veterinary hospital in Bareilly which confirmed that he had a 6-inch-long malignant adenocarcinoma cancer in his throat around his food and wind pipe. "This is a rarest of the rare cancer in lions and a new revelation in medical science as far as my knowledge is concerned. His cancer was malignant with no survival chances as it had affected his other vital organs like kidney, liver and heart," said Dr Arvind Mathur, veterinary doctor at Jaipur Zoo.

Since then the zoo team swung into action and made a control room inside the zoo to monitor him round-the-clock. They changed his diet from beef to chicken and gave him water mixed with glucose for instant energy to fight the disease. He breathed his last at 9.30am on Tuesday. The post-mortem also revealed that Badshah's vital organs had failed. He was the only animal to have spent two decades in the zoo and his roar was admired by crores of visitors.

Known for his roar and frequent appearances out of cage, Badshah was the only lion in Jaipur. "Unlike tigers and lions, he had the tendency of appearing before the visitors. He was favourite among the caretakers also as he had never made any attempt to hit anyone," said Akanksha Chaudhary, deputy conservator (forest), Jaipur Zoo. The Jaipur Zoo authorities are now planning to get a pair of lions either from Rajkot Zoo or Junagarh Zoo. "The talks are in advanced staged. I am sure that soon Jaipur Zoo will hear the roar of lions," said Aakansha.
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